


Sometimes You Have to Fall to Fly

by Unfathomable101



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And Lance bonds, Basically, Blood and Injury, Even Zethrid, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Humans pack bond with anything, Hurt Lance (Voltron), I came up with the concept before S5, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lotor's generals find him, Tags May Change, and then, lotor is a jerk, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-05-16 21:59:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14819660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfathomable101/pseuds/Unfathomable101
Summary: Lance gets injured on a Galra warship, and passes out on the way back to the castle. Since he's in the pilot seat and alone in his Lion, that's bad news. He crashes on an unknown planet, and is found and rescued by some... unlikely people. And it turns out to be the best thing that could happen to him.





	1. The Worst Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is going to be my first long Voltron fic! I'm not sure exactly how long it'll be, but I definitely plan to write lots since I'm out for the summer. Here's to hoping!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets shot on an infiltration mission, misses the wormhole, and crashes on a desert planet. At least Arus had some friendly faces.

Lance was having a really bad day.

First, his alarm was late. Not that big a deal since he trained himself to wake up on time anyway, but it meant he had to move a little faster than normal. Which was always tedious. And he got teased by Pidge at breakfast, another straw on the camel's back.

Then, he almost settled back down for some relaxation time, before remembering the mission. More running, more taunting from Pidge, Keith being a jerk, et cetera. By the time they actually set out on the mission, he was getting pretty tired of that day. Luckily, the mission went almost perfectly, so he didn't have to add that to the list.

Then, he got shot. Badly. He hadn't even noticed right away, too busy with finishing the fight. The wound turned out to be a deep gouge in the side, about the width of his arm but not the depth (thank god). The funny part, and by funny he meant kind of deeply saddening, was the part where no one seemed to notice. Then again, they were running, and he was bringing up the rear, but shouldn't someone have noticed that he was falling behind? He made it out without further injury, but still.

Which led him to the present, dizzy with blood loss and pain, nauseous at the sight of all the red in the corner of his eye, and seeing double. The team was headed for a wormhole, but he saw two. Taking a chance, he flew towards one at top speed. The faster he got back, the faster he could get help.

Except he headed towards the wrong one, shooting out into space.

It was about at that point he blacked out.

* * *

 Acxa, the unofficial leader type of their trio, spotted the... object... heading for the planet's surface from miles away. The constant clear skies allowed for that. She warned the others to stay behind with weapons ready while she investigated.

You can imagine how shocked she was when she found the Red Lion facedown in the sand? What was more shocking was finding the Paladin, also facedown in the sand, in a puddle of his own blood. She immediately sent a comm to Ezor.

"Ezor? Zethrid? We may have a problem. I'm going to need some sort of litter. And a wound suppressor. A big one, by the looks of it."

Once she got confirmation that they'd come, she knelt beside him. He was pretty small, if the other Paladins were anything to go by. She didn't know much about their species, so she couldn't pass much judgement.

Soon enough, Zethrid arrived with a litter, and together they loaded the scrawny Paladin into it, slowly dragging him back to the cave they now called home.

See, everything had gone downhill very quickly in the past month or so. First, they lost Narti to Lotor, then Acxa wounded Lotor so they could escape. Now they were holed up on some uninhabited desert planet, waiting for some opportunity to guide them to what was next.

The Red Paladin was that opportunity.

Perhaps a barter could win their way back into the Empire. What better bargaining chip than a Paladin and his Lion? No one had to say it, but a few shared glances told each other that they were all thinking the same thing. All they had to do was wait until a Galra ship passed by, close enough for a transmission to reach it. However, that could take some time. It had to at least get into the solar system, but the Red Lion was the first object they'd picked up on. Hopefully someone would come soon. Before they were out of supplies.

Ezor was the best medic out of the three of them, so they left her to patch up the Paladin, while they hunted down a bedroll for him. He was heavily injured and unarmed, so they didn't think they needed to worry about him trying to flee. And his Lion was half buried in the sand, so how would he even get in anyway? Besides, they weren't barbaric... despite planning to hand him over to a race that would probably torture him in a half dozen ways without even trying. Maybe they were a little barbaric.

Once the Paladin was about as patched up as he was going to get, Acxa and Zethrid backed off to let Ezor tend to him. Not only was she the best medic, but she was also the most diplomatic. Out of the three of them, at least. Also so Zethrid wouldn't get angry and divulge more information than necessary in a fit of frustration.

Now they played the waiting game.

* * *

Lance groaned as he woke up. He was bruised, battered, and definitely concussed. He rubbed his forehead, then his side. Weird, he didn't remember strapping a giant swatch of metal to his side. He didn't know that was even a thing at the castle. Also... why was he laying down? Was he already out of the pod? Usually he was awake for that...

He forced his eyes open, staring confusedly at the ceiling above him. That... was not the castle ceiling. That was very distinctly rock. What the quiznack? He looked over.

And froze.

Right there, literally five feet away, was one of Lotor's generals. She was leaning against one of the cave walls, dozing. She wasn't even wearing armor, just a plain brown shirt and black pants. It was... a little disconcerting. Especially with how calm she looked.

 A moment after he gasped, she stirred, opening her eyes and looking at him. She smiled cheerily. "Oh, you're up. Morning, Red! Although I guess it's closer to afternoon..." she shrugged. "Whatever. How are you feeling?" When the only answer was shocked staring, she waved a hand in front of his face. "Hellooo?"

Lance blinked once, twice, thrice. Then he laid back down and closed his eyes. "I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, nightmare." He waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

Well, no. The general did poke his scratched up face. Lots. Strangely, she avoided all the scratches. Not that he was complaining. He swatted her hand. "Leave me alone, I'm hallucinating from blood loss," he grumbled. He heard her sigh.

"This isn't a hallucination. You crashed here, and we picked you up." That made him stop dead. He opened his eyes and sat up, yelping as pain shot through his body. He stared at her in horror and dismay, a thousand bad thoughts racing through him.

"Oh."

This was chalking up to be the worst day ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm still trying this plot out, leave a comment with some feedback please! It would really help, and also probably motivate me to write the next chapter.


	2. It Gets Worse Before it Gets Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Lance in the hands of Lotor's generals, and their plans very open, and Red weirdly silent to boot, everything seems hopeless.

The first few days passed fairly uneventfully, but also very roughly. Lance said maybe fifty words over the course of them. Which was rough all on its own. He spent most of the time laying down, healing, while the wound suppressor kept his body functional while it healed. He'd have one hell of a scar, that was for sure. And just when he thought the burn on his back was the worst he'd come out with.

The generals, well, ex-generals as he had discovered but was not given an explanation for, took decent care of him, forcing him to move every once in a while so he didn't stagnate, feeding him, keeping him hydrated.

He might've thought them kind, were it not for the beans Zethrid spilled on his second day there.

They were going to use him as a bargaining chip to get back into the Empire's good graces. The thought alone nearly gave him a panic attack. But one look from Ezor, confused and pitying, and he employed every calming technique he had, save for removing himself from the situation. Since that was a little hard. He didn't say much after that.

The one kindness they afforded him was, as soon as he was strong enough, sitting up to look at the stars. They left him alone, knowing he'd find his way back to bed when he was ready. He watched every night for the castleship, for another Lion, for Red. And night after night, nothing.

It was a pretty hopeless situation.

* * *

It was one of these evenings, full of stars and despair, that he finally started learning more about his captors, just as they learned more about him.

Ezor seemed the most eager to learn more about him, and when asked, all she said was something along the lines of just wanting to learn more about their prisoner before he was just a memory of the past. Lance, Acxa, and Zethrid were all equally confused.

So it was Ezor that first tried talking to him while he stargazed. They were silent for a while, and Lance wondered if they'd just spend the night in silence.

They didn't.

"Can you see your parent star?" She asked, turning her head but not looking at him directly.

"Dunno," was his short, curt reply. Unfortunately, she was not deterred.

"I can't. The planet I came from is pretty far out." They lapsed into silence. Lance thought that was the end of it. It wasn't.

"You know, it's pretty weird to just keep mentally referring to you as 'the Red Paladin'. We've told you our names. What's yours?"

Lance didn't answer for a long time, before sighing. He might as well just answer. "Lance. My name is Lance."

Ezor laughed. "Lance? Your parents named you after a weapon? And yet the weapon you ended up with isn't a lance."

Lance nodded. Current circumstances made him agree that it was pretty funny, but he wasn't in a humorous mood. Thankfully, Ezor picked up on that. She got up and stretched. 

"Mmn... well, good talk. Goodnight, Lance." She earned a hum in response, but it was better than the grunts. It was a start. A start to what, she didn't know. But a start.

* * *

It quickly became understood that Lance was at his most talkative at night. An understanding that irritated Lance to no end. But something about the naive hope to see something, along with the hopelessness that he might never see anything made him a lot less standoffish. He told himself he was just too distracted to stay like that.

Ezor tried talking to him the most over that first week. Lance was certain he learned more about her than she him, but she seemed satisfied with their talks. Still no information on Lotor and the fourth general, but the very mention of her name, Narti, made Ezor appear sad, Acxa look away, and Zethrid look angry. Something bad had happened, Lance knew that much. So he said little and never pushed.

Surprisingly, it was Acxa that finally divulged the information. The calm, quiet, vaguely familiar general was the last one he expected to tell him anything. But she did.

It was a night like any other. The sun set, the debris of their evening meal were disposed of, and Lance took his place in the mouth of the cave. Acxa joined him soon, sooner than Ezor ever did. She started talking sooner than Ezor too.

 "You're curious about Narti and Lotor. I can tell. You always look it when we bring one of them up," she stated, eyes focused on the sky. He glanced at her in surprise, before looking up in the same direction.

"It's not my business," was his reply, although he was curious as to why the topic arose.

Acxa sighed, looking to the darkened horizon. "It could be. At least, it could be Voltron's business." He sat up straighter, worry in his gaze. "Lotor has been outcast from the Empire, same as us. He will likely seek an alliance with their enemies. This could be bad for your friends."

Lance's breath caught in his throat as his heart began to pound. He looked out to the desert, calling out to Red with everything he had in him. After a few minutes, when nothing happened, he drooped. Then something occurred to him, and he looked over and met Acxa's eyes. She looked apologetic and mournful.

"But wait... why did you break apart from each other? Shouldn't you be with him?" He asked, fear creeping into his tone.

Acxa smiled ruefully, looking skyward again. "Because he betrayed us too. I don't know why, although I'm sure he had some semblance of a reason, but... he killed Narti. After that we doubted him. I was hesitant, but in the end it was my stun that granted us escape. But this is not much of a life anyway." She gestured behind her, to the cave with it's storage crates and thin bedrolls. "If it helps any, I wish there were a way we could earn our way back to the Empire without hurting anyone."

Lance shivered. That was.. a lot to take in. If Lotor would kill one if his generals, he could only mean trouble for Voltron. "I- I have to..." he stammered out, but he knew he wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't warn his team. His friends. His space family. He slumped, staring at his feet.

Acxa didn't say anything either. Just stayed staring at the sky for a while. Eventually Lance dragged himself to bed.

Acxa was in the same place when he woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was heavy. So, I'm going on a trip for about a week, so I won't be able to update as much, but I'll still aim to write a bit every day. I'm still not 100% sure what I'm doing, but I think I'm doing alright! Let me know, I could use extra opinions.


	3. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the information revealed by Acxa constantly on Lance's mind, his thoughts are plagued with worry for his friends. Luckily, Lance can't get past rock bottom. Although he really, really tries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched season six and fell in love with Ezor again but also I'm emotionally ruined but hey let's hope things go better and Lance gets the arc he deserves.

Acxa's words stuck in Lance's head. Lotor might seek Voltron. That would be bad for them. They were in trouble and he was lost waiting to be put in Zarkon's hands. Ezor had all but given up on trying to talk to him in the days after, since he was all but unresponsive.

If his nightmares before had been bad, the ones tied to that knowledge were his own special brand of hell. He avoided sleeping as much as possible, instead staying up worrying, crying silently, and picking at every tiny flaw he still had on the skin of his hands and wrists. He had a dozen little bleeding holes every morning. He even stopped looking at the stars.

Just when the generals were losing hope that he'd actually manage to recover, it got worse.

Because _of course_  itdid. 

When Lance couldn't fight sleep anymore, the first thing he dreamt of was going home. Not Earth home, but the Castle of Lions home. He didn't know the particulars, but he didn't care. He was going home.

* * *

The first thing Lance noticed was the silence. But all the lights were off. Maybe it was a night cycle. That was fine. He could always surprise them in the morning. Oh, they'd be so excited!

He moved through the halls, his feet leading him to the control room for some reason. He didn't particularly care. He was just glad to be home. But as soon as he stepped in, everything took a dizzying turn.

His vision felt tilted, as he looked around the control room. It didn't look like that anymore.

First of all, on the teludav deck, rather than the controls, a menacing throne with bright purple accents of light running through it sat. It faced away, so he couldn't tell if it was occupied.

But that wasn't the only change. Six tubes stood scattered about the room. Filled with some sort of acid green liquid, inside them were... the bloodied, broken bodies of the other four Paladins, Coran, and Keith.

His knees gave way, but it got worse still.

A figure rose from the chair. Lance didn't catch much. Bright eyes. White hair. Then a knife flying towards him.

* * *

He woke screaming. 

He clawed at his chest, leaving dozens of red lines over his skin. He would have probably realized he was unharmed eventually, but hands gripped his wrists and pulled them away from him before he could. 

He looked up and saw worried blue eyes in a pink face, and his mind conjured the image of Allura, bloodied with dents all along her armor and bruises on her neck. He couldn't muster a scream, only a weak sob escaped him.

Ezor pulled him close, holding him gently. He clung to her, fingers hooking into notches in her armor as he screamed and wept out his fears. He cried so hard he gagged as some point, actually throwing up near dawn. The others did what they could, but it seemed like holding him was all that would help, and even that didn't help much.

Suddenly their plan didn't seem like the best option.

* * *

To say the next morning was awkward would be a heinous understatement.

Lance wouldn't even look at any of them. He curled up tight against the wall, about as far away as he could get. They'd dealt with the vomit, not that there was much to deal with.

Ezor tried to get him to eat something, or drink something, but he always turned away. It wasn't even noon before Zethrid was done with his attitude.

"Alright, that's it," the tallest general growled as she shooed Ezor away and took her spot, making sure she left the food and water for Lance. Ezor didn't go far, hovering nearby, worried. Surprisingly, Lance actually looked up, dull blue eyes confused by her presence.

Zethrid cracked her knuckles. "You're going to eat this-" she held up the ration bar, "- and drink this-" she held up the canteen, "- before dusk, or else I'm forcing it in you."

Lance scowled at the tiny flaw in the floor he focused on. He didn't want to eat, Zethrid trying instead of Ezor wouldn't help. But then she threatened him. Without hesitation, he snatched the ration bar. If there was one thing he wouldn't do, it was let this trigger-happy Galra humiliate him. Also he needed to eat. He turned his scowl away as he tore a bite out of the bar. He finished it in almost record time. He didn't see Zethrid's smug face.

She was already holding out the canteen, which he also emptied with equal fervor. He handed it back before huddling up and turning away. But hey, at least they got food and water into him.

* * *

 It started getting better later on. Lance was actually responding to Ezor by the end of the day, letting her inspect his hands and bandage them. He picked at the bandages, but at least it wasn't his skin. And when the sun set, he dragged himself out to look at the stars.

When asked how she got Lance to eat and drink, Zethrid just shrugged and said something about an educated guess that humans were proud. They didn't have much to go on, but it did make sense. And even if that wasn't what happened, it worked.

All three of them joined him beneath the stars that night. Ezor was the only one that slept, snoring with her head in Zethrid's lap.

There was even a ghost of a smile on Lance's face. Something about the snores just made him feel safer. More at home.

* * *

It wasn't worse in the morning like they feared. Lance was still quiet, but it didn't take threats of forcefeeding him to get him to eat. He wouldn't say anything, but that wasn't too bad a change. He hadn't said much anyway.

Mostly he just sat in the mouth of the cave, staring up at the sky. He called out to Red day and night, but no reply. He knew she wasn't ignoring him. She wouldn't. That was the only thought he let himself have on the matter. 

The more he thought, the less abandoned he felt. Something was blocking Red's connection to him. By extension, it was reasonable to assume her connection to the rest of the Lions and the Castle was also blocked, or severed. Hopefully not the second one though.

It was rough getting back on his feet, but if there was one thing Lance McClain was good at, it was getting up, brushing off, and faking it 'til he made it.


	4. While Lance Was Away...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attempt to cheer Lance up with joking scenarios about Lotor's failures to ally himself with the Paladins... aren't actually that far off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idea for this Chapter came from Eaglefairy! I'm not sure if I can link that to their profile or anything, but the comment is still up if you want to check them out.

When Ezor woke up, everyone was in the exact same place as when she fell asleep. But there was a sky full of daylight. She blinked, looking from face to face. "Did any of you sleep?"

In a twist that literally had Ezor's jaw drop and Zethrid recoil, Lance laughed softly. Acxa just smiled, as if she'd been expecting it the whole time. In reality, she was just really good at acting. "Feeling better, are we?"

Lance shrugged. "A little. I dunno. I just had a lot of time to think. Put things back into perspective. And I wholeheartedly believe that Voltron will find us before the Galra Empire does."

Zethrid furrowed her brows. "That... was a whole lot of words in one go." Lance laughed again.

They all followed his gaze to the sky. Sensing that thinking of being found cheered him up, Ezor scooted to his side. "What do you think they did when you first went missing?"

Lance shrugged. "Hunk cried, Pidge panicked, Shiro tried to keep his cool, Keith got mad, Coran yelled, Allura tried to figure out where I went." The matter-of-fact tone he had told them that he knew the other Paladins very, very well.

* * *

 Lance's guess was almost spot on. 

Chaos almost instantly ensued when Lance shot off and missed the wormhole. They headed back as soon as possible, but Lance was nowhere to be seen.

Hunk broke down as predicted.

Pidge began ranting about disappearances, impossibilities, and some factor that sounded completely made up. And was.

Shiro was less composed than Lance guessed, but he still tried to keep a handle on the situation.

Keith yelled about idiocy and screwing up something ridiculously easy, although that was mostly to cover his worry.

Coran didn't actually yell at the Paladins, but he did yell about how they could have possibly lost a Paladin. 

Allura used her connection to begin searching for the Red Lion and, by extension, her Paladin.

* * *

Zethrid chuckled a little. Hearing Lance talk like an actual person was... a nice change of pace. "Oh really? Jeez. If they were Galra, they'd have been executed for their weakness." That was probably a stretch, but it made Lance laugh again. His laugh was easy, light, joyous. Definitely better than his crying. 

Acxa couldn't suppress her own smile. Which was odd. It was rare for her to smile. In fact, it only ever happened when one of the others was extremely happy. Well, Ezor did look like someone remembered her day of birth and offered to help her honor it. Which Acxa always tried to do.

And it was Acxa who spoke up next. "You know them well, clearly. If Lotor offered an alliance, would they take him up on it?"

Lance snorted. "Not with words alone. He'd have to do something really big to even get them to consider letting him in the Castle. And even then it'd be iffy. They'd probably keep him under wraps for questioning for a while. And... well, I'd like to think they'd be hesitant about making such a huge decision without me."

* * *

Lance really knew his space family.

On the next encounter between Lotor and Voltron, he made a bargain.

"Paladins of Voltron. I believe we can be of aid to each other."

"Nope," was Keith's only response, taking up one of the Castle's weapon systems and firing a few warning shots. Directly at Lotor's ship. Lotor made some shocked noises.

"Excuse me? I'm about to propose an alliance that may help us defeat Zarkon and bring peace--" more shots interrupted him. This time, Pidge was behind him. 

"We said no. Now go away before you have four magic robot Lions attacking you."

Lotor growled, but he did fly off. Another day then. He'd win them over.

* * *

Ezor laughed. "Well, judging by just how little power he holds, he'll have no choice but to follow what they want."

Lance hummed. "Let's just hope they don't want to drink his koolaid." Silence ensued. Very awkward silence. "Uh... that's an idiom from Earth. Do Galra have idioms?"

Ezor shook her head almost comically slowly. "Is it like an idiot? We have those."

Lance snickered and shook his head. "Uh, no. It's a kind of saying, like, uh... don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Um... we'll cross that bridge when we come to it? No?" More heads shaking. He sighed. "Never mind."

Zethrid furrowed her brows. "What does looking a gift in it's mouth have to do with anything?"

Lance shrugged. "Well. A horse is an animal, typically used for transport although we have more sophisticated methods nowadays. You can tell the age of the horse by looking in it's mouth. And since it's rude to check your gift for quality or price or whatever, so you don't. I'm not exactly sure what it means anymore, but it meant something at some point. That's what most idioms are anyway. They meant something but due to linguistic shifts they don't anymore. It's actually kinda cool. But I'm rambling."

Ezor shook her head. "No, no, that is cool. I don't think enough Galra history stuck around for us to have stuff like that. Basically we have how the Empire started back on planet Daibazaal, a list of every emperor, and that's it."

Lance hummed. "If it makes you feel any better, where I'm from, the history isn't that great to remember."

Zethrid patted him on the shoulder. "That's alright. You're worth remembering." He looked at her, surprised at the sudden compliment, and smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Zethrid. That's really nice of you to say, actually."

She grinned, and the pat turned into more like an affectionate whack that sent him jolting forward. "Don't mention it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter, I know, but it ended on a good note and I couldn't resist leaving it there. Sorry I didn't give the other Paladins much love, but they'll get some later ;)


	5. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Lance finally opening up to the generals, they learn some new information about him, his family, and his relationship with the other Paladins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the delay! I'm not sure what took so long, but I'm here now!
> 
> It was also brought to my attention that this story can read as a romantic fic. For those reading it like that, it is not. Sorry.

The next day was even better. Lance felt well enough to walk a short distance, stretch out in the sunlight, and pretend like he wasn't searching for Red. The others pretended not to notice.

They also pretended not to notice Acxa discreetly point out her direction. He still didn't see her, but it was a small reassurance.

In between short walks, stretching, checking his wound, making sure he got enough to eat and drink, among other things, the ex-generals got to talk more with Lance.

The bright, energetic, excitable Lance they spoke with now was a far cry from the one they'd been caring for before.

Sometimes they got him to ramble on for hours. He had a lot to say about pretty much everything.

At one point, Ezor commented, in a tone of wonder, "You talk so much but you never run out of things to say... it's crazy." Lance turned red, and they all got a short biology lesson on the physical effects of embarrassment on the human body.

Humans were pretty interesting themselves. Some parts were scary ("Your infants are as big as a female's ribcage?" "Well, not all of them, but a lot. Which is why I think my mom is a superhero for carrying four of them." "Oh wow..."), some parts were funny ("You guys actually lose sanity for soap bubbles?" "No, it's not actual loss of sanity."), and some parts were just plain weird ("You eat capsaicin? For fun?" "Yeah, it's good.")

Lance was good at talking, and the ex-generals were good at listening. The next week was spent with him recovering, both physically and mentally. 

But some of their conversations weren't so sweet. Sometimes the conversation drifted to Lance's insecurities. His lack of certainty about his place on the team, his anxiety, his rough childhood and rougher time at the Galaxy Garrison, all of it came up at one point or another.

Was it sad that he could rely more on people who had tried to kill him in the past to listen to his problems more than the people he'd trusted his life to? Yeah, a bit. Did he care? No, not really. If they listened, they listened. And they weren't really trying to kill him anymore.

Among all this talking, Lance got some thinking done. A lot of thinking. He couldn't definitively put the ex-generals into a category of friend or enemy. They took care of him, fixed him up, listened to his problems and let him listen to their own, but he couldn't keep ignoring their endgame. They didn't have any plans to let him see his family and friends again. They planned to give him over to Zarkon. Which, at this point, was probably a sentence to a slow, excruciatingly painful death.

Did he say he couldn't keep ignoring it? Oh no. That was exactly what he could, and would, do. Even if it weighed on him and threatened to snap him in half and suffocate him. It wasn't like it was much heavier than the rest of his insecurities. And, well, if any of them noticed his occasional mood swings and constant attempts to steer the conversation far, far away from his Earth and Space families, well, they probably chalked it up to some other problem.

Most importantly, they left it alone.

Sometimes he jokingly made connections to the trio and his siblings.

He was the youngest, with Veronica as the oldest (and only sister), and Marco and Luis twins in the middle. Acxa reminded him of a calmer, more serious version of Veronica. Basically her double, with a more subdued sense of humor.

Ezor, light and cheerful and playful, was a perfect match for Luis. The junior twin, always up for a good prank. 

Then Zethrid, boisterous and loud and a bit violent, like a more extreme version of Marco. The comparisons always made him smile a little to himself.

But days still passed, and Lance's recovery reached a plateau, and then began to gradually decline. It was then, and only really then, that the three Galran women decided they needed a new game plan. The Red Paladin was surprisingly sneaky, stealing his way into their hearts and making them consider him a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh late chapter, short chapter, and a cliffhanger, do my sins never cease? I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.


	6. Seeing Red in the Best Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A decision is made, one that will change the course of the lives of the four on that desolate desert planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH I'M SO SORRY FOR THE UNEXPECTED HAITUS.
> 
> I have no excuse, only apologies
> 
> Again, really sorry

Lance woke one morning to a whole lot of clamoring about. He stirred and lifted his head, blinking blearily as he came back to the land of the living.

The ex-generals were packing.

Cue instant rise in panic.

Did the Galra finally find them? Was this the end of their calm, civil almost-friendship? Were they really going to give him over?

Ezor noticed his wide-eyed, trembling form first. She slapped her forehead, getting the attention of the other two. "Guuuuys, I told you we should have waited until he was awake to start! Look, he's terrified!"

Acxa winced slightly, glancing at Lance apologetically before looking at Ezor. "Do you think you could explain while we finish up?" She nodded to Zethrid, although the implications of 'we' were pretty obvious.

Ezor nodded cheerfully, before going to sit beside Lance. "Wow, you weren't kidding about getting shaky when you're nervous. Sorry, we should have let you wake up first. The Galra haven't found us, and.... well..." she glanced over to the others, before looking back at Lance. "We don't want them to!" She burst out, sighing slightly with relief once her words were out. Lance just blinked a few times, not quite getting it.

"What? Why not?"

Ezor gnawed her lip, showing nerves Lance had only seen a few times. He sat up slightly, reaching for her, and she patted his hand in reassurance that she was alright. 

"We can't give you to the Galra. I mean, functionally we can, obviously, but... we can't. We can't do that to you or your team, because... because this is the Empire that cost us one of our own. And even if your team kind of sucks by what you told us- let me finish- well.... we don't want to be the cause of that kind of pain. And we like you, Lance. You're nice, you're funny, you're sweet... we can't let you go like that. So we're taking you to Red."

Lance's eyes were wide, and a bit wet. But then he smiled the brightest smile they'd seen on him yet. And suddenly Ezor had a lap full of teary Paladin, his arms thrown around her. He mumbled thanks into her shoulder, and she couldn't help but hug him back. But then he pulled away, worry in his eyes again. 

"Wait, but what about you guys? What'll you do?" The three Galra looked at each other, a little surprised they hadn't thought about that.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let's worry about getting you home to your team," was Acxa's reply, and Lance hesitantly accepted.

Within the next half hour, they were ready to go.

* * *

Lance practically skipped along as they walked through the desert, no matter how much the Galra tried to stop him from doing so and tiring himself out. He didn't listen, and soon enough he had to ask Zethrid to carry him, and in exchange he'd hold onto her pack. It took them the rest of the day to get there, and it was too dark to see Red. A big disappointment to Lance. But they set up a tent and slept for the night, Lance getting up bright and early to see his favorite lady.

Or at least, to see her back legs and tail, since everything else was stuck in the sand.

Luckily, he could still get in her, but how to get the sand out of her was the problem. Since presumably, the sand was what was making her dormant. He awkwardly used all the angles and corners on the sides as a ladder to climb down and look around.

Ezor and Acxa had followed him inside, with Zethrid outside with a rope to help them out with more ease.

Lance sighed as he peeked in the control room. It would be nearly impossible to get back in the chair. 

Didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

He jumped down onto the back of the chair, taking one of the coils of rope he'd brought in with him (just in case), and fashioning it into a sort of harness. Then, with a feat of epic skill, he managed to get himself into it. Ezor and Acxa watched from the doorway. He gripped the controls, mostly to try and work up the guts to continue the struggle.

He definitely did not expect Red to wake up.

It would have taken him ages to expect her to take off. He distantly heard Zethrid yelling as Red writhed to get out from under the sand, then Acxa and Ezor were yelling as they went flying around inside the Lion once she took off.

Lance was sure sand was raining from just about every crook and cranny she had, probably right on top of Zethrid.

_But Red was flying._

Lance let out a whoop of glee as she circled, coming to a gentle landing near their campsite at his gentle urging.

He untied himself and hopped up to check on his friends. All bruised, battered, alive, and happy for him. 

"Okay, we're going to need to figure out how to get my team to listen long enough not to kill you on sight. Luckily, I can talk fast. But if I stop speaking English I'm going to need one of you to give me a gentle whack on the arm." Nods all around. "Good. So the Castle should be heading to this planet soon now that they've got Red's signal. So let's pack up and meet them there."

Ezor cheered in excitement, and they got all the cargo into Red with ease. Lance politely asked them to stay out of the cockpit for the time being. They agreed, although Ezor was pouty about it.

Lance had never been so relieved to leave a planet.

And he definitely had never been so relieved to see the Castle of Lions. He started the comm first, unable to keep the smile off his face. "Hailing the Castle of Lions. Your Red Paladin is coming home!"

The excited cheering and Hunk's relieved sobbing was practically music to his ears.

It was good to be home.


End file.
